1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a program updating apparatus for a radio base station and method as the same, which update a program of a radio base station used in a private wireless telephone using a private branch switching unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
New services such as a character communication and the like, are developed one after another, as a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) service. Usually, an addition of a new service requires a change of a program for a radio base station (CS). Typically, the radio base station is installed at a place, such as a ceiling or the like, which is difficult for a hand to reach, by considering the characteristic of an electrical wave transmission. For this reason, once it is installed, it is difficult to carry out a program change work, such as a change of ROM and the like. So, several program download methods are proposed in order to update a program of a radio base station.
An example of a program download method to a conventional radio base station is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 7-87543) (a first conventional technique). In this conventional method, in order to carry out a program download at a high speed, a high speed line is installed between the base stations, and a download program is transferred on this high speed line.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 10-40189) (a second conventional technique) discloses a method in which a host computer transfers a download program to a radio base station and then the radio base station sequentially transfers a program to a next radio base station.
The first conventional technique has a problem that when a new program to be downloaded is transferred in a master base station, it requires an external memory as well as a high speed line.
Also, the second conventional technique has the following problem. That is, it requires a host computer. Moreover, a radio base station carrying out the download sequentially downloads a program to a next radio base station. Thus, if there are a large number of radio base stations, a period corresponding to the number is needed.
The present invention is accomplished in view of the above mentioned problems. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a radio base station program download method which can easily update a program for many radio base stations in a short time without requiring a special facility.
The following techniques are disclosed.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 6-105352) discloses a download method to a base station in a mobile switch system, as follows. The mobile switch system containing a plurality of base stations, base station controllers, mobile switches, monitors and control terminals connected to the monitors is used to prepare interface converters in the monitors and the mobile switches for carrying out the relay processes between the control terminals and the base station controllers. Then, an interface switch is carried out in a lower layer. After completion of connection of the lower layer, the control terminal carries out a communication control in a layer. The preparation of the download between the control terminal and the base station controller is checked to then send out a download file from the control terminal.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 10-224286) discloses a method for updating a system file of a mobile communication system and the base stations thereof, as follows. At least one file transfer base station is prepared at each of blocks, each having a plurality of base stations. A system file is transmitted from a maintenance apparatus through a fixing network to each file transfer base station. The file transfer base station receiving the system file sequentially transfers the system file through the fixing network to the other base stations in each block.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei 243446) discloses a multi-base station download method, as follows. In a simple type portable telephone system of a multi-base station method, at a time of download, a higher rank apparatus reports a download instruction of a master base station and a slave base station to the master base station. The master base station reports a download start instruction to respective slave base stations. Accordingly, when the master base station and the respective slave base stations establish a download data link between the higher rank apparatus and them and then receive the download data and further validate a reception download data and thereby detect a normal reception, the slave base station reports a download result information to the master base station, and then the master base station reports the end of the downloads of the master base station and the slave base station to the higher rank apparatus. Thus, the downloads become possible in the master base station and the slave base station, respectively, individually and simultaneously.